– Why use The Bachelor finale lead in on a show (Kevin Probably Saves The World) that hadn’t been promoted since October. It was also a show that was saddled with Modern Family reruns pulling a low .7 since Jan. In other words, there was no effort to grow its audience. To waste a rare big lead in on that show’s finale as opposed to the premiere of For The People, a show debuting in that exact slot a week later is hard to comprehend, especially as its crucial week 2 was once again following a Modern Family rerun.

– Why debut The Crossing opposite big NCAA finals? CBS and FOX didn’t air originals of their established shows that night as basketball is known to siphon off audience that night. Debuting an unknown show on a night manyTV viewers are watching a climactic sporting event seems strange, and counter productive, especially as it’s a rare ABC drama with male appeal. American Idol had its lowest score of this season that night as its younger end was watching basketball. Overall, it’s just a very inhospitable time to launch a new drama. It easily could have premiered a week later, especially if the primary goal is to bring as many viewers as possible to the table.

Probably most puzzling was using the Roseanne lead out on The Middle. The Middle is extremely compatible with Roseanne but it’s also a show that is ending in 6 weeks and even though no one expected Roseanne to be as huge as it is, most expected it to be ABCs highest rated comedy these next few weeks. Also, for a network that’s very focused on profits and company owned shows, it’s not just a show that’s ending in 6 weeks, it’s a WB show that’s ending. ABC also has another compatible show with Roseanne in American Housewife. That show is at the end of its second season and likely is still unfamiliar to many. Airing behind Roseanne will instantly introduce it to many who haven’t seen it before. Seeing as it’s ABC owned, this would only strengthen a company owned asset’s future potential. It could be an 8p/9p anchor soon. Syndication profits await.

Assuming ABC has legitimate reasons for wanting The Middle at 8:30 (at the very least it’s a wonderful show that’s still creatively thriving and very deserving to go out in glory), airing a rerun of it after Roseanne is frankly, a waste. On April 17, likely one of the more hyped eps of Roseanne airs. It’s where Johnny Galecki returns as his David character and likely fills in on what happened between he and Darlene. Why would ABC waste that lead in on a rerun? Either put a new American Housewife there that night OR move up that evening’s new Splitting Up Together To 8:30. That show has been doing better at 9:30 than any other recent ABC occupant. It’s a chance to grow it some more.